The Sopwith Camel was a British First World War single-seat biplanefighter introduced on the Western Front in 1917. Manufactured by Sopwith Aviation Company, it had a short-coupled fuselage, heavy, powerful rotary engine, and concentrated fire from twin synchronized machine guns. Though difficult to handle, to an experienced pilot it provided unmatched manoeuvrability. A superlative fighter, the Camel was credited with shooting down 1,294 enemy aircraft, more than any other Allied fighter of the war. It also served as a ground-attack aircraft, especially near the end of the conflict, when it was outclassed in the air-to-air role by newer fighters.

Intended as a replacement for the Sopwith Pup,[2] the Camel prototype was first flown by Harry Hawker at Brooklands on 22 December 1916, powered by a 110 hp Clerget 9Z. Known as the "Big Pup" early on in its development, the biplane design was structurally conventional for its time, featuring a box-like fuselage structure, an aluminium engine cowling, plywood-covered panels around the cockpit, and fabric-covered fuselage, wings and tail. For the first time on an operational British-designed fighter, two .303 in (7.7 mm) Vickersmachine guns were mounted directly in front of the cockpit, firing forward through the propeller disc with synchronisation gear. A metal fairing over the gun breeches, intended to protect the guns from freezing at altitude, created a "hump" that led to the name Camel.[2] The bottom wing was rigged with 3° dihedral but the top wing had no dihedral, so that the gap between the wings was less at the tips than at the roots. This was done at the suggestion of Fred Sigrist, the Sopwith works manager, in order to simplify construction. Approximately 5,490 Camels were built.[3]

Unlike the preceding Pup and Triplane, the Camel was generally considered difficult to fly. The type owed its extreme manoeuvrability and its difficult handling to the close placement of the engine, pilot, guns and fuel tank (some 90% of the weight of the aircraft) within the front seven feet of the aircraft, coupled with the strong gyroscopic effect of the rotary engine. The Camel soon gained an unfortunate reputation with student pilots. The Clerget engine was particularly sensitive to fuel mixture control and incorrect settings often caused the engine to choke and cut out during take-off. Many crashed due to mishandling on take-off when a full fuel tank affected the centre of gravity. In level flight, the Camel was markedly tail-heavy. Unlike the Sopwith Triplane, the Camel lacked a variable incidence tailplane, so that the pilot had to apply constant forward pressure on the control stick to maintain a level attitude at low altitude. The aircraft could also be rigged so that at higher altitudes it was able to be flown "hands off." A stall immediately resulted in a particularly dangerous spin.

The type entered squadron service in June 1917 with No. 4 Squadron of the Royal Naval Air Service, near Dunkirk. The following month, it became operational with No. 70 Squadron of the Royal Flying Corps. By February 1918, 13 squadrons were fully equipped with the Camel.

The Camel proved to have a good margin of superiority over the Albatros D.III and D.V and offered heavier armament and better performance than the Pup and Triplane. In the hands of an experienced pilot, its manoeuvrability was unmatched by any contemporary type. Its controls were light and sensitive. The Camel turned rather slowly to the left, which resulted in a nose-up attitude due to the torque of the rotary engine. But the engine torque also resulted in the ability to turn to the right in half the time of other fighters,[4] although that resulted in more of a tendency towards a nose-down attitude from the turn. Because of the faster turning capability to the right, to change heading 90° to the left, many pilots preferred to do it by turning 270° to the right.

Major William Barker's Sopwith Camel (serial no. B6313, the aircraft in which he scored the majority of his victories)[6] became the most successful fighter aircraft in the history of the RAF, shooting down 46 aircraft and balloons from September 1917 to September 1918 in 404 operational hours flying. It was dismantled in October 1918. Barker kept the dashboard watch as a memento, but was asked to return it the following day.

An important role for the Camel was home defence. The RNAS flew a number of Camels from Eastchurch and Manston airfields against daylight raids by German Gotha bombers from July 1917. The public outcry against these raids and the poor response of London's defences resulted in the RFC diverting Camel deliveries from France to home defence, with 44 Squadron RFC reforming on the Camel in the home defence role in July 1917.[7] When the Germans switched to night attacks, the Camel proved capable of being safely flown at night, and the home defence aircraft were modified with navigation lights to serve as night fighters. A number of Camels were more extensively modified as night fighters, with the Vickers machine guns being replaced by overwing Lewis guns, with the cockpit being moved rearwards so the pilot could easily reload the guns. This modification, which became known as the "Sopwith Comic" allowed the guns to be fired without affecting the night vision of the pilots, and allowed the use of new and more effective incendiary ammunition that was considered unsafe to fire from synchronised Vickers guns.[8][9][N 1] By March 1918, the home defence squadrons were equipped with the Camel, with seven home defence squadrons flying Camels by August 1918.[11] Camels were also used as night fighters over the Western Front, with 151 Squadron intercepting German night raids over the front, and carrying out night intruder missions against German airstrips, claiming 26 German aircraft shot down in five months of operations.[12]

By mid-1918, the Camel was becoming limited, especially as a day fighter, by its slow speed and comparatively poor performance at altitudes over 12,000 ft (3,650 m). However, it remained useful as a ground-attack and infantry support aircraft. During the German offensive of March 1918, flights of Camels harassed the advancing German Army, inflicting high losses (and suffering high losses in turn) through the dropping of 25 lb (11 kg) Cooper bombs and ultra-low-level strafing. The protracted development of the Camel's replacement, the Sopwith Snipe, meant that the Camel remained in service until the Armistice.

With rotary engines, the crankshaft remains static and the cylinders, crankcase and attached propeller rotate around it. The torque of this rotating mass-produces a significant "pull" to the right. In the hands of an experienced pilot, this characteristic could be exploited to give exceptional manoeuvrability in a dogfight. A 3/4 turn to the right could be done in the same time as a 1/4 turn to the left.

The Gnome "mono" engines did not have throttles and were at full "throttle" while the ignition was on – they could be "throttled" with a selector switch which cut the ignition to some of the cylinders to reduce power for landing. The Clerget, Le Rhone and BR1 had throttles, although reducing power involved simultaneously adjusting the mixture and was not straightforward, so it became common during landing to "blip" the engine (turn the ignition off and on) using a control column-mounted ignition switch, the blip switch, to reduce power.

The main production version. Armed with twin synchronised Vickers guns.

A Sopwith 2F1 Camel naval variant, flown by Flight Sub-lieutenant Stuart Culley when he shot down Zeppelin L 53, at the Imperial War Museum, London. Note non-standard armament of two Lewis guns in fixed, inaccessible mount over top wing.

The twin Vickers guns were replaced with two Lewis guns on Foster mountings firing forward over the upper wing, since the muzzle flash of the Vickers guns tended to blind the pilot. To allow the pilot to reload the guns, the pilot seat was moved about 12 inches (30 cm) to the rear; to compensate for this, the fuel tank was moved forward.[13] Served with Home Defence Squadrons against German air raids. The "Comic" nickname was of course unofficial, and was shared with the night fighter version of the Sopwith 1½ Strutter.

One was displayed in the Aerospace Education Center in Little Rock, Arkansas, which was closed as of December 2010 and the Camel sold to help pay debts. The Camel was sold privately and moved to a museum in New Zealand.[19]

One, restored to near-flying condition, is at the Brussels Air Museum Restoration Society (BAMRS) in Brussels, Belgium.

A Camel F.1 (s/n B 7280) can be found at the Polish Aviation Museum. This Camel first flew in Royal Naval Air Service and then in the Royal Flying Corps. Two pilots who flew this aircraft shot down 11 German aircraft.

N6812, a William & Beardmore built 2F1 Camel, was flown by Flight Sub Lieutenant Stuart Culley on 11 August 1918 when he shot down Zeppelin LZ100; it is on display at the Imperial War Museum in London.[20]

A Camel 2F1 N8156 (RAF) is currently on display at the Canadian Aviation Museum. Manufactured in 1918 by Hooper and Company Ltd., Great Britain, it was purchased by the RCAF in 1924 and last flew in 1967. It is on static display.[21]

F.1 Camel B6291 restored to flying condition, is part of the Javier Arango Collection, in Paso Robles, California. It was previously owned by Al Letcher.

In 1969 Slingsby built a flyable Type T.57 Sopwith Camel reproduction powered by a 145 hp Warner Scarab engine for use in a Biggles film. This aircraft is on display at the Fleet Air Arm Museum, Yeovilton painted as B6401.[24][25]

The Sopwith Camel on display at the Cavanaugh Flight Museum in Addison, TX is a full scale flying replica built by Dick Day from original World War I factory drawings. The aircraft is fitted with original instruments, machine guns and an original Gnome rotary engine (something very rare in replicas). It is painted in the scheme of the World War I flying ace Captain Arthur Roy Brown, a Canadian flying with the Royal Air Force.

In 1977, a flyable reproduction was built for Leisure Sport Ltd by the late Viv Bellamy at Lands End. Painted to represent B7270 of 209 Squadron, RAF, the machine which Captain Roy Brown flew when officially credited with downing Baron Manfred von Richthofen, it has a Clerget rotary engine of 1916 and was registered as G-BFCZ until 2003. First seen at Brooklands Museum in January 1988 for Sir Thomas Sopwith’s 100th birthday celebrations, it was purchased by the Museum later that year, can be taken by road for exhibition elsewhere and is ground run regularly.

Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome flies a reproduction Camel completed in 1992 with a 160 hp Gnome Monosoupape model 9N rotary, built by Nathaniel deFlavia and Cole Palen. It replaced one of the Dick Day-built and -flown Camel reproductions formerly flown at Old Rhinebeck by Mr. Day in their weekend vintage airshows, which had left the Aerodrome's collection some years earlier.

N8343 constructed by Dick Day, is part of the Javier Arango Collection, in Paso Robles, California. Powered by a 160 hp Gnome Monosoupape rotary. It is regularly flown.

Another reproduction is on display at the Evergreen Aviation museum.

B3889 is part of The Vintage Aviator Collection, L.T.D., in Masterton, New Zealand. It was originally built by Carl Swanson for Gerry Thornhill. It is often flown. Powerplant is a 160 hp Gnome Monosoupape rotary engine.

A reproduction is on display at the Canadian Museum of The Air in Langley, BC, Canada. Lacking an engine, a full reproduction wooden Rhone R9 130 hp engine has been installed. Given a real engine, this one would fly.

The single-seater scout flown by the Royal Flying Corps Squadron in the semi-autobiographical, First World War air combat book Winged Victory written by Victor Maslin Yeates.

The fighter flown by Biggles in the novels by W.E. Johns during the character's spell in 266 Squadron during the First World War. The first collection of Biggles stories, titled The Camels are Coming, was published in 1932.

The "plane" of Snoopy in the Peanuts comic strip, when he imagines himself as a World War I flying ace and the nemesis of the Red Baron.

^The ammunition in question was the RTS (Richard Thelfall and Sons) round, a combined incendiary and explosive round with a nitroglycerin and phosphorus filling. While more effective than earlier incendiary bullets like the phosphorus filled Buckingham bullet, they required careful handling, and were initially banned from synchronised weapons, both because of fears about the consequences of bullets striking the propeller of the fighter, and to prevent cooking off of the sensitive ammunition in the chambers of the Vickers guns, which fired from a closed bolt - a required feature for guns used in synchronized mounts - where heat could build up much quicker than in the open bolted Lewis gun.[8][10]

^Quote: "Under fire from a pupil of Richthofen (the Red Baron), John's Camel caught fire over occupied France. Bayard's last sight of his twin brother was of John jumping out of his fighter feet first. Faulkner also wrote about the Camel (and Sartoris) in his famous story All the Dead Pilots."